Kashkari May Be Readying Campaign for Calif. Governor

Neel Kashkari, who won praise for overseeing the bank bailout in the George W. Bush administration's Treasury Department, appears to be building up a campaign in order to run for governor of California next year as a Republican.

According to Politico, he has begun signing up advisers and traveling the state in a possible move aimed at gauging support.

Incumbent Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to seek re-election and would represent a formidable competitor. He beat Republican Meg Whitman by 13 percentage points in 2010 to reclaim the office he held for two terms from 1975-1983.

The Republican primary already has drawn two candidates — former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado and Assemblyman Tim Donnelly. They are not expected to be strong candidates, according to Politico.

As Bush’s assistant treasury secretary for financial stability, Kashkari oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, as the bank bailout was known. In 2009, Kashkari left the government to join the bond fund management firm Pimco.

According to Bloomberg, he had mixed results seeking to build the company's equities business.

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